Ball head battle

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Archive 2009 · Ball head battle

joosay
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p.2 #1 · Ball head battle

I'm looking to get a ball head like this one:
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/368324-REG/Manfrotto_by_Bogen_Imaging_468MGRC0_468MGRC0_Hydrostatic_Ballhead_with.html#reviews

Should any ball head be compatible with any standard tripod? I have the Velbon El Carmagne 530..

Nov 26, 2009 at 01:40 PM

Erie Patsellis
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p.2 #2 · Ball head battle

E-Vener wrote:
kenyee wrote:

Wow

Have you and Ellis tried every cool ballhead?

Sigh. More than you can ever guess. Arca-Swiss (B1, B2 (I still own these), Graf, Foba, Acra-tech, Linhof, Kirk, Induro/Benro, Novaflex...but never the Really Right Stuff heads for some reason. Weird but true. But then its part of my job as an editor foir PPA's magazine. Never tried Markins either. They outright refused to let me review their heads a couple of years back when I was writing up a comprehensive survey of ball heads.

For stitched and rotational panoramic work my favorite head is a very heavy geared tilt Majestic head with an RRS PCL-1 clamp on top. I'd like to find an affordable double tilt FOBA head someday...

Out of curiosity (and having gotten one very, very inexpensively), what did you find lacking in the Graf Studioball?

erie

Nov 26, 2009 at 02:26 PM

sjms
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p.2 #3 · Ball head battle

joosay wrote:
I'm looking to get a ball head like this one:
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/368324-REG/Manfrotto_by_Bogen_Imaging_468MGRC0_468MGRC0_Hydrostatic_Ballhead_with.html#reviews

Should any ball head be compatible with any standard tripod? I have the Velbon El Carmagne 530..

the manfrotto head will come with a 3/8-16 threaded stud which is "standard" today. if you have any tripod that has a 1/4-20 thread stud a reducer is available for generall less the $5

Nov 26, 2009 at 02:51 PM

sjms
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p.2 #4 · Ball head battle

rprouty wrote:
sjms wrote:
would this be what you're referring to?

I've had one of these since 1978...

thats abou the time i got my first one that i lost

. do have another around the house that has an alloy knob which is older.

Nov 26, 2009 at 02:53 PM

bp044
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p.2 #5 · Ball head battle

sjms wrote:
rprouty wrote:
sjms wrote:
would this be what you're referring to?

I've had one of these since 1978...

thats abou the time i got my first one that i lost

. do have another around the house that has an alloy knob which is older.

I have thr older one. The operation of the serrated ball does'nt seem smooth . Does it require lubrication ?

Nov 26, 2009 at 03:54 PM

sjms
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p.2 #6 · Ball head battle

its not smooth. the ball is serrated. it will never be smooth. but what it will give you is unbelievable grip. you put it in a position and lock it up it does not move. smooth and sexy in operation it not. it is designed to do one job set and stay in place. it does it well too. the more you lube a ballhead to get "smooth operation the more likely it will slip in locked position.

Nov 26, 2009 at 03:59 PM

joosay
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p.2 #7 · Ball head battle

sjms wrote:
joosay wrote:
I'm looking to get a ball head like this one:
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/368324-REG/Manfrotto_by_Bogen_Imaging_468MGRC0_468MGRC0_Hydrostatic_Ballhead_with.html#reviews

Should any ball head be compatible with any standard tripod? I have the Velbon El Carmagne 530..

the manfrotto head will come with a 3/8-16 threaded stud which is "standard" today. if you have any tripod that has a 1/4-20 thread stud a reducer is available for generall less the $5

Thanks. It seems like the el carmagne 530 comes with 1/4 thread studs.

Nov 26, 2009 at 04:30 PM

E-Vener
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p.2 #8 · Ball head battle

Erie Patsellis wrote:

Out of curiosity (and having gotten one very, very inexpensively), what did you find lacking in the Graf Studioball?

erie

I owned two successive Graf Studioball heads in the 1990s, the second one replaced the first. Both failed the same way: becoming progressively wobbly and then separating from the panoramic base. The second one did this while I was on an industrial assignment in Davenport Iowa. The first one was returned to the vendor and except for the clamp, which I still possess, the second likely still resides in the mud about 10-20 yards east of the western shore of the Mississippi River just south of downtown Davenport. becasue of it's failutre I lost a half day of shooting and part of the next morning and incurred significant Fed Ex charges getting a Gitzo No. 5 Rationale head delivered from Calumet in Chicago. If I had not moved swiftly as the head came apart I would have also had to repalce a 4x5 Sinar C camera, a 90mm f/4.5 Caltar II lens, and an 82mm Heliopan center-weighted filter.

Presumably the current Graf Studioballs are better.

Nov 26, 2009 at 06:33 PM

E-Vener
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p.2 #9 · Ball head battle

sjms wrote:
its not smooth. the ball is serrated. it will never be smooth. but what it will give you is unbelievable grip. you put it in a position and lock it up it does not move. smooth and sexy in operation it not. it is designed to do one job set and stay in place. it does it well too. the more you lube a ballhead to get "smooth operation the more likely it will slip in locked position.
High quality ball heads do not require lubrication, indeed it is not recommended. lubrication attracts grit among other things.

Nov 26, 2009 at 06:35 PM

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